Chito Santa Romana
His Excellency Jose Santiago "Chito" Santa Romana | |
|---|---|
| Ambassador of the Philippines to China | |
| In office September 28, 2016 – April 19, 2022 | |
| President | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Preceded by | Erlinda Basilio |
| Succeeded by | Jaime FlorCruz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jose Santiago Santa Romana January 15, 1948 Manila, Philippines |
| Died | April 19, 2022 (aged 74) Huangshan, China |
Jose Santiago "Chito" Santa Romana (January 15, 1948 – April 19, 2022), was a Philippine journalist and diplomat who served as the country's ambassador to China from 2016 until his death in 2022. His appointment came during the Philippines' growing alignment with China under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.
In August 1971, Sta. Romana was on a tour in China with other students when an arrest warrant was issued against him and four other students in the aftermath of the Plaza Miranda bombing in Manila, which forced him and others into exile in China. He returned to the Philippines 15 years later in March 1986, after the People Power Revolution ousted President Ferdinand Marcos and his family from power.
As a broadcast journalist in the United States, Sta. Romana served as ABC News's China correspondent from the 1980s until 2011. In 2000, he and his ABC team won a News and Documentary Emmy Award.